


endless eight

by warofthefoxes



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, Time Loop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-21 22:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16585829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warofthefoxes/pseuds/warofthefoxes
Summary: On August 8, Mark and Donghyuck go on a short trip to the beach to celebrate Mark's birthday.





	endless eight

**Author's Note:**

> endless eight is an arc in the second season of the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya. if you're not familiar with it, it could be simply put as a time loop au. also mark won't shut up about boys over flowers so i borrowed one arc from it too. 
> 
> warnings: recurring depiction of accidents and scenes leading up to it. please proceed with caution! and accept my apologies? ><

**(one / endless eight)**   
On August 8, Donghyuck wakes up in a hospital room. Mark watches as he does. 

Donghyuck looks over to his parents on his bedside first and then to him - Mark, standing across the room, he mumbles a soft: 

“Excuse me, do I know you?” 

Later, Mark falls to the ground in front of Donghyuck’s dad outside of his room, murmuring “If I only could’ve stopped it. If I could only just go back -”

 

**(two / endless eight)**  
On August 8, Donghyuck wakes up in a hospital room. Mark watches as he does - Donghyuck’s eyelids fluttering open slowly as it adjusts to the room’s bright light.

Donghyuck looks over to his parents on his bedside first. “What happened?” He asks in a whisper, turning his head again as he recognizes another body in the room and sees Mark standing by the wall, preparing to walk over. Donghyuck mumbles a soft: 

“Excuse me, do I know you?” 

Mark stops, his shoulders falling, eyebrows furrowed in the middle of his forehead, smile suddenly turned down. “Wha-” He doesn’t finish his words as Donghyuck’s dad walks him out of the room.

“It might be temporary, Mark.” He tells him as soon as he closes the door, arm around his shoulders. “The doctors say it could happen after the surgery.”

Mark falls to the ground, his chest heavy. He feels his throat closing up, suddenly breathing requires more effort from him, exhausting him in the process. “If I only could’ve stopped it. If I could only just go back.” He murmurs low, wondering after he said them where he heard those exact same words. 

 

**(three / endless eight)**  
On August 2, Mark celebrates his 18th birthday with his friends in his house’s living room. Donghyuck and the rest of the kids set up a surprise party for him while he was upstairs in his room, feigning ignorance on why Jaemin came over with a cake when he opened his door this morning or why Chenle walked up to his room to ask if they have any helium for the balloons. 

Jisung called him down after an hour, tying a rolled up hanky around his eyes. He holds onto Jisung tight, trusting him as he does his best not to let both of them trip on their way down to the stairs. He feels silly as he walks down, hearing his friends’ hushed voices as they warn one another that he’s coming.

“Happy birthday Mark hyung!” All of them cheers once he gets to the living room, popping party poppers directly at his face. Donghyuck signals for the others to begin singing the happy birthday song in their own renditions together, his fingers missing the right keys on the keyboard as he concentrates on curling his voice. Mark laughs at the scene, clapping his hands once they’re done with it, even joining at the last part. 

“Make a wish!” Jaemin says in hurry as he holds the cake up in front of Mark. It’s almost childish, having a surprise kiddie party at 18 but he really wouldn’t have it any other way. He blows the candles after a quick closing of his eyes. 

“You’re old now.” Jeno tells him as he tackles him into a hug, wiping some cream to his cheek before he runs to hide behind a smaller Renjun. 

Mark just scoffs at him. 

“Should we cut the cake now?” Donghyuck interrupts, moving away from the keyboard and throwing him a smile. 

Mark smiles back as he follows. There’s everything he likes and a little bit of everyone’s favorites splayed on the table. Chenle is running over to turn on some music, getting excited about being on music duty for the night. 

“Hey Mark hyung, you promised you’d take all of us to the beach when you turn 18. When will that be?” Jisung asks as he stuffs his mouth with food. The party ready to take its full start.

Mark is about to answer when Donghyuck cuts him to it. 

“Mark hyung’s taking me alone next Tuesday though.” Donghyuck says nonchalantly, cutting the cake with utmost care, a small smile present on his face. A little conceited if Renjun would put it, snickering on the side. “Right Mark hyung?” He adds, turning his head to look at Mark with a coy smile. 

Mark gulps as he feels the rest of his friends eyes on him, waiting for his rebuttal, Chenle’s loud ass music still playing in the background. He looks back to Donghyuck, still smiling at him. 

“Yeah.” He breathes out. 

“That isn’t fair!” Jisung protests as soon as he says it, already standing up from being seated on the floor. He looks cute when he does this so Mark just lets him be, picks up a fork as Donghyuck gives him a slice of cake. “I thought I was your favorite.” 

Jeno shushes him down with Jaemin coming over to cheer Jisung up by saying for him he’s his favorite little brother. Renjun shouting “Hey!” at the back and Chenle laughing at all the mess, scrolling through his phone for the next song without really putting his mind on it. 

Donghyuck is blushing red when Mark takes a brief glance at him that he almosts wants to say the words there, feeling brave after one birthday wish, but Tuesday. He should wait for Tuesday, his mind tells him that. He waits for Tuesday.

\--- 

On the morning of August 8, Tuesday, Mark wakes up with a headache. The first of his seven alarms blaring throughout the room. He doesn’t even need to be up for at least another 30 minutes, taking the day off from his morning job for the summer. He feels hot, gross with all the sweat clinging to his skin.

He pushes himself out of bed, taking the stairs carefully, trying not to trip without the help of his glasses. 

“Morning, Mark.” His mother greets him as soon as he reached the kitchen. He huffs, takes out a pill to help alleviate the headache when his mother stops him. 

“Eat some breakfast first. I cooked some hotcakes for you, they’re on the table.” She says and something rings in Mark’s ears. He’s sure he had hotcakes yesterday morning as well and his mom never cooks the same thing twice for two breakfasts straight. 

“Did we have hotcakes yesterday?” Mark asks. 

Her mother just shakes her head. “I cooked Korean food yesterday for breakfast Mark. Why?” 

_Weird_. He’s sure they had hotcakes yesterday. _Maybe it’s a deja-vu, yeah, that could be it._ He settles at that. 

He moves to the dining table and starts eating. His mom is getting ready to leave for work but before she does, she sends Mark a quick kiss on the top of his head. “Be careful with your driving Mark and good luck.” The words sounds ominous to his ears.

He drives to Donghyuck’s place after getting ready. He looks a bit dapper today than usual, trying to mask his nerves for what he has planned - the box ready at the backseat of the car, something simple, something he’s sure Donghyuck won’t suspect anything about. 

Mark almost misses the red light as he gets lost in his thoughts, hurriedly steps on his brake. He gets angry honks from the cars beside him. One of the drivers, someone in his fifties, gray hair filling a good portion of his hair, rolls down their window to scream at him “You wanna die kid?!” and Mark squints his eyes, trying to remember where he’d seen him before. 

He takes the next turn to Donghyuck’s place. Donghyuck is already waiting for him outside, and he heads to the passenger seat in no time. He beams at Mark, eyes almost shining, so pretty that everyone else who can’t see them must be jealous of Mark. 

“Let’s goooo!” he screams excitedly, arms up and in motion.

\---

On the evening of August 8, Donghyuck wakes up in a hospital room. Mark watches, his body fighting off the urge to run from this. He thinks he’s seen this before. He _knows_ he’s seen this before.

Donghyuck stares at him, with no gleam in his eyes, no warmth like the last time. Mark could only stare back. 

“You’re gonna say you don’t know me right?” 

Donghyuck looks puzzled at the words, Mark frightened. He hopes he’s wrong about this but Donghyuck in bed just brings his eyebrows together, mumbling “I don’t know you though.” He exchanges short glances to both of his parents on his bedside. “Am I supposed to?” 

Later, Mark is outside the door of Donghyuck’s room, Donghyuck’s dad consoling him and his dried tears. “I need to remember next time. I need to…” He mumbles to himself. 

 

**(four / endless eight)**  
On August 4, Mark briefs Jeno about his plans. They were left at the store alone for customer service duty, the rest of their co-workers already taking their early lunch break. The store was nearly empty save for a couple of middle schoolers who’s mostly there to take their time, trying on a couple of pieces for them not to do their purchase in the end. 

“I’m telling him this Tuesday.” Mark says to Jeno simply. 

Jeno gives him a knowing smile, maybe relieved that Mark has finally come to this point. 

“You guessed it already huh?” 

Jeno just shrugs as he pretends to stack the number cards again for the fifth time. “I guessed when you admitted you’d take Hyuck to the beach without us.” 

Mark chuckles, wondering shortly if maybe Donghyuck already placed the pieces together. Tuesday wasn’t a usual day for confessing or at least Mark likes to pretend it isn’t, makes him feel special - a genius for planning it without Donghyuck suspecting. Who even goes to the beach on a Tuesday? Nobody. 

“Excuse me. I wanted to get this shirt exchanged, would that be possible?” A customer comes in and asks, interrupting their conversation. Mark throws one quick smile to Jeno before he heads out.

\---

On August 8, Mark wakes up with a headache. He spends moments staring at the blotch of paint in his ceiling, his alarm going off for the 2nd time. He tries hard to concentrate, his tinglings telling him he’s been in the same situation for a couple of times - this blaring alarm, the headache, the smell of hotcakes from the kitchen. He grabs his phone from his bedside, unlocks it to check the date: _August 8_. He’s sure he’s lived for August 8 too many times more than anyone before and he didn’t mean the previous years he’s lived but the one from this year alone. He looks at the time on his screen - 8:02 am.

“Donghyuck will text me at 8:03 to tell me I better be up.”

As if on cue, his phone vibrates in his hands, a notification from Donghyuck flashed on his screen.
    
    
     **Donkey**  
     _sent 8:03 am_  
     don’t tell me u arent up yet or else ill come drag u out of bed

Mark groans, feeling his head beating. He feels as if there’s something that’s gonna go bad this day, so bad that he’s here again, but he can’t remember exactly what or how he knows about it. 

He drags himself out of the bed, his mom telling him she left hotcakes for him to eat for breakfast. He dials Jeno after finishing his food.
    
    
    _/start of call_ 
    
    **Mark:** “Donghyuck texted you about how excited he is right?”  
    
    **Jeno:** “I was just about to call you to tell you that.” (A pause, the sound of Jeno chewing his food.) “Wait, how did you know he texted me -” 
    
    **Mark:** (Sighs)“I don’t know Jeno… but I have a bad feeling about today.” 
    
    **Jeno:** (chuckles, short) “You do know Donghyuck likes you too right? You two are just being complete idiots about it.” 
    
    **Mark:** “No, no I don’t mean that.”
    
    **Jeno:** “Huh?”
    
    **Mark:** “I have a feeling something’s gonna go bad. No not a feeling. I know something’s gonna go bad. Like Donghyuck will be in danger and it’s all my fault.” 
    
    **Jeno:** “You’re just overthinking hyung. Nothing’s gonna go bad.”
    
    Silence. 
    
    **Mark:** “But what if I’m not --” 
    
    A beat. 
    
    **Jeno:** “Double check your car before you go. Wear seatbelts. Use protection. Drive safe. It’ll be fine hyung. ”
    
    **Mark:** “I hope you’re right about that.” 
    
    _/end of call_
    
    

Mark sighs and gets up from his seat. He gets a series of texts again from Donghyuck, most of them threatening him for sleeping in, a lot with too many angry emojis. Mark remembers he forgot to reply to his earlier text. He sends out a quick
    
    
    don’t worry i’m up

and a
    
    
    we’re still going

to Donghyuck before he takes his bath.

\---

They’re halfway to the beach when Donghyuck stirs awake from his nap he promised he didn’t need to take when Mark suggested he does for the fifth time in their first hour on the road.

Mark was looking at the ring he has prepared for that day, silver, with personalized words engraved on the inner portion that hugs the skin, his simple promise to keep. He hurriedly tried to keep it away, and put it back in his pocket when he sensed Donghyuck was starting to wake up, dropping it in the car’s floor with his fright on the process. 

“Wait.” He mumbles low. “It’s happening again.” 

Donghyuck lets out a soft grunt, tries to ask him what will happen. 

Mark remembers this scene - the ring falling, him losing sight of the road as he tries to reach for it on the car floor, then a loud crash on Donghyuck’s side after. 

He breathes out. _Not again._ Mark keeps his eyes on the road, maintaining his focus, forgoing the ring this time, both of his hands steady on the wheels. He takes one glance at Donghyuck who’s barely woken up. He gives him a smile. He sees a van take over them from Donghyuck’s side of the car, then --- _crash_ , Mark trying to swerve the car away as he screams. 

 

On August 8, Donghyuck wakes up in a hospital bed (“Who are you? I’m sorry but --) and Mark can’t bring himself to watch.

 

**(five / endless eight)**  
On August 8, Mark wakes up a second before his alarm goes off. He remembers everything clearer this time than the last, the ache seeping throughout his body, his room feels so cold in the middle of a summer morning. He doesn’t know how many times he’s lost Donghyuck and he doesn’t know if he could go through that again but what he knows is that he’s got to try. He’s given one more chance to. _I need to save him. I will save him._ He sends a message to Donghyuck first to tell him he’s up. 

He gets out of his bed, determined. His mother greets him again and tells him about the hotcakes on the table. Mark thanks him as she sends him good luck for the day, and one quick reminder to bring Donghyuck home before midnight. Mark shakes at the words, his hands feeling cold as he cuts the hotcake covered in maple syrup on his plate. 

“I will.” He says although half of him thinks of it as a broken promise. 

He calls Jaemin this time. The boy only picking up after 5 tries, his voice groggy from sleep. Mark is unsure if he falls back to sleep while he goes over to him how ‘bad things will happen’ involving him and Donghyuck when Jaemin finally asks, “How bad?” 

“We will get on an accident and when Donghyuck wakes up from surgery, he’s forgotten about me.” 

Jaemin makes a loud noise over the phone. “Donghyuck forgetting about you? Impossible! He probably even thinks about you in his sleep.” 

Mark sighs. “It’s gonna happen Jaemin. It already did.” 

“You’re not making sense hyung. It hasn’t happened.” Mark keeps mum. How can he explain it to everyone that he’s been going through this day over and over. 

“If you’re so worried, then just don’t go to the beach hyung. Just go to the movies or something.” Jaemin says after a long yawn. Mark feels a tinge of hope at that. _If we didn’t have to go then the accident won’t happen and Donghyuck won’t forget._

“You sure he won’t mind if we don’t go?” 

Jaemin scoffs before he says the next thing as if it’s common knowledge, as if Mark should already know it by now, five years into the friendship and deep deep crush, almost love situation he has with the boy. “All Donghyuck wants is to spend alone time with you. He’d be happy wherever it is as long as you take him.”

\---

Donghyuck says yes to the movies but only after Mark promises they’d go to the beach next week on his day off. Mark is on his way to Donghyuck when he almost misses the red light.

“Shit.” He curses as he hits the brake. 

A car on his right rolls down their window to scream at him “Do you wanna die kid?!” and he finds himself saying the words together with the stranger. 

Mark shakes his head at the thought. “We’re not going to the beach, it won’t happen. You’re just overthinking, that’s right.” He says trying to match his breathing with the time counter of the stop light. It works for a while. 

He reaches Donghyuck’s house in no time after, the younger already outside waving his hand up in the air to greet him. 

“I’m still bummed we’re not going to the beach.” Donghyuck says as he yawns, stretching his arms all the way in the passenger as soon as he’s buckled up and ready to leave. Mark looks over at Donghyuck by his side with all the love he has for him, all thoughts leading to this one single goal: _to make it right this time._

They get to the movies with no problems. Donghyuck skipping happily as he chooses the movie, Mark letting him off easily as he goes to buy them drinks and popcorn, trying to be as hyped up as Donghyuck is while they wait for the showing time. 

“Are you okay? You look pale.” Donghyuck asks, face full of concern. 

He can’t help but to look at his watch every minute. The minutes pass by so fast, moving closer to around the time of the accident. The dark side of his mind begins coming up with every possible idea how it’ll go inside the cinema for them to end up in a hospital room later that day. 

Mark takes a long deep breath, smiling at Donghyuck across him. “I’m okay as long as you are.” 

They watch the movie and Mark is able to feel comfortable and just enjoy mid-way into the movie. It was great, a feeling of satisfaction grows in him as he watches Donghyuck’s eyes gleam in the dark. 

Mark checks his watch after the movie, seeing it’s close to noon now and he realizes. He stops walking, Donghyuck moving ahead of him until he notices Mark’s not following, feet set in stone in the middle of the mall. 

“We did it. It worked!” Mark shouts at him, eyes going wider, holding both of Donghyuck’s shoulders. 

“What worked?” 

Mark can’t believe it did. He’s got to thank Jaemin for this, he makes a mental note for that. 

“You’re here and you know me.” He says beaming at Donghyuck leaving the younger confused with his words even as he smiles back after, telling Mark he’s weird. Mark’s always been weird.

\---

One second, Mark and Donghyuck are driving through the intersection on the way back to Donghyuck’s house after lunch when a loud crash comes -- a white van running up to them in a speed too fast for Mark to see it coming. The next moment, Mark is screaming ‘no’ as it hits his car from Donghyuck’s side - his face stuck in pure delight as he goes over his plans for their beach trip next week. The next moment after, Mark is in the hospital again, waiting for Donghyuck to wake up, head bandaged in the hospital bed.

It didn’t worked after all. Mark thought hard. He failed this time when he thought he’d finally done it right.

“One more time. Please.” He asks, voice low as he drops to the ground outside Donghyuck’s room. 

 

**(six / endless eight)**   
On August 8, Mark wakes up in sweat, panting hard as his alarm goes off too loud in his room. Not going didn’t work. He runs his thoughts on the ways he could possibly conquer this day and this tragedy only to come up with this. He grabs his phone and sends out a text to Donghyuck.
    
    
    i’ll come over and eat breakfast there, is that fine?

Mark comes up to Donghyuck’s door step and the boy opens up the door for him, all ready and cute in his pullovers even though it’s the middle of summer. He could smell the kimchi fried rice as soon as he enters, a song that Mark recognizes as one from Lee Seung Chul is playing inside and Mark wills himself to believe that today will be a good day this time. 

He takes his time eating, stalling too long that Donghyuck starts whining. Mark has thought of this this morning as he woke up coming up with plans. Maybe they had to go and reach the beach and do what he has planned there. If he manages to do that within the day, then maybe it’ll stop as long as they reach the beach and not get on an accident. Maybe that’s the point all along. So he stalls, letting the first hours pass telling Donghyuck they’re doing it to avoid the traffic. 

They leave Donghyuck’s place almost at noon, the sun up high and burning. Mark drives off, easing himself to get comfortable and take trust that this little change will do the trick. 

And yet, after all the stalling and Mark’s strong baseless belief, they still end up here: 

On August 8, Donghyuck wakes up in a hospital room not remembering Mark.

 

**(seven / endless eight)**  
On the evening of August 2, Mark almost confesses to Donghyuck. The party has already died down, the karaoke songs have gone from popular dance songs to the mellow ballads, the food almost done. 

Donghyuck starts cleaning up, leveling the paper plates and boxes of pizza to bring them to the trash can outside. Mark follows, picking up the bottles of soda and bringing them with him as he goes out. 

“What was your wish hyung?” Donghyuck asks as they sit down on the road’s pavement, leaving the rest of the cleaning to the younger ones. The air is humid in the summer night but neither of them really minds it.   
Mark thinks through if he should tell Donghyuck about it. In the end he settles with: “I asked for some courage.” 

He looks over at the skies, tries to trace the stars in hopes those aren’t just random lights up in the air. “I’m gonna be doing something important I’ve been putting off for a while now and I need that.” 

Donghyuck is confused but he doesn’t prod, just makes a sound of acknowledgement - that he’s heard what Mark has said and accepted it as that. 

“You’re not going to ask what it is?” Mark asks, bordering on dangerous waters. He wants Donghyuck to be intrigued. He wants Donghyuck to ask even if he knows his heart can’t take it, already beating crazy as he asked him that, the question not even a hint to what the other makes him feel. 

Donghyuck just shakes his head at him as he chuckles. “You’re not gonna tell me anyways. Just be thankful I’m trying to be less annoying to you today because it’s your birthday.” He turns his head to the side to look at Mark, gently closing his eyes. “But maybe I’ll ask tomorrow.” 

And Mark almost, _almost_ gives in. Donghyuck looks so pretty in the moonlight, the summer air feels like it belongs to them, exists for this moment to arrive. He almost blurts out the words when -- 

“What are you guys doing outside?” Jisung comes barging in with a trash bag, as he was assigned to throw the rest of them outside. 

They head back together inside after helping Jisung, the conversation already long over, but the feeling stays with Mark’s skin, making him feel warm.

\---

Tuesday comes again and Mark wakes up once more to the sound of his alarm ringing, his eyes heavy, body dragged down. He takes one long moment of silence before he gets up. His phone reads August 8 again like the past few times he’s woken up.

He takes his time with his food, trying not to get his mother’s quick reminder make him feel even worse. He doesn’t sense that he begins crying until a tear drops in his plate. He wipes it off and tells himself to calm down, there must be some way to fix this. 

His phone lights up with a notification. A text from Jeno reads:
    
    
     **Jen**  
     _sent 8:17 am_  
     should i call u to tell u how hyuck just spammed me 30 texts about how nervous and excited he is about today

Mark wants to just remember that Donghyuck was brimming with excitement as if he was gonna remember that after he wakes up from -- Mark leaves Jeno’s message on read and dials Renjun. He hasn’t asked him yet and Renjun’s smart so maybe. Mark hopes he can help him. 

Renjun picks up at the first ring, asking what Mark wants for him early in the morning. 

“I need your help.” He says, sounding more as a plea. 

Renjun laughs triumphantly. “Good thing you called me!”
    
    
    /call continued 
    
    **Mark** : “Okay hear me out first.” (Mark takes a huge breath.) “Let’s say I’ve lived through this day multiple times and I keep coming back to fix the wrong that’s happened. How do you think I can fix it?” (pause) “Not going to the beach didn’t work. Going on a different time didn’t either. I’m running out of options and I -- don’t really know what else to do.” 
    
    **Renjun** : “Oh wait you’re serious huh?” (pause) “What did exactly happen?” 
    
    **Mark** : “We were driving to the beach when a car overtakes us and hits my car. I only needed a few stitches but Donghyuck -- he needed to get some surgery and when he woke up” (Mark sobs.) “He didn’t remember me at all.” 
    
    **Renjun** : “He forgot about you specifically?” 
    
    **Mark** : “He knows his parents and his own name but he doesn’t recognize me at all. Nothing.” 
    
    (silence)
    
    **Mark** : “I didn’t even get to tell him .. I was supposed to do it by the beach. God.”
    
    (silence) 
    
    **Renjun** : “Why didn’t you tell him before then? You’ve had plenty of times. I guess you should tell him that hyung, whatever you need to tell him in case your nightmares do happen which I doubt they will but -” 
    
    **Mark** : “Okay, you’re right. I’ll tell him. I’ll tell him this time.”
    
    **Renjun** : “Okay, good. By--” 
    
    /call ended
    
    

Mark hurries up, takes a bath and gets ready for the day. He picks up the ring he’s bought a few weeks back, the one he’s been saving for this day alone. He double checks his car before leaving, putting his mind out of the possibilities, imagining this is the first time he’s living August 8. 

Donghyuck is there when he arrives, smiling as he waves at him. He stops him from going inside, stepping out of his car to meet him in front of Donghyuck’s house. The sun feels hot even if it’s just barely 10 o’clock in the morning. Donghyuck looks as if he’s always been ready to brighten up Mark’s day. His eyes are questioning Mark on why they’re still not going until he finally speaks up. 

“Remember what I wished for my birthday?” Mark starts, checking Donghyuck’s reaction. 

“I was saving this for later when we’re on the beach but -- I’m scared we might not get there and I won’t get to tell you this.” He pauses and takes Donghyuck’s hands. “That it doesn’t matter where, or what time, that here this morning like any other day, even in your dried up lawn, you never fail to make my life brighter.” He looks up at Donghyuck, his thumb making circles around the other’s hand, drawing up the rays of the sun for him. “My wish was to get enough courage to let you know that I’ll try again and again to keep you safe even if costs me anything. I’ll do anything.” 

Later, Mark is holding Donghyuck’s hand as he drives. He runs his thumb over the ring on Donghyuck’s finger, his words ‘I’ll never forget’ ring into his head repeatedly as Mark smiles up to him, warm, like the growing feeling in his chest, like the wind of the summer morning of August 8. The last image he remembers before - 

 

**~~(eight / endless eight)~~ (one / endless eight)**  
On August 8, Mark wakes up in a hospital room. Donghyuck watches as he does. 

Mark looks over to his parents on his bedside first and then to him - Donghyuck, standing across the room, he mumbles a soft: 

“Excuse me, do I know you?” 

Later, Donghyuck falls to the ground in front of Mark’s mom, outside of his room, murmuring “If I only could’ve stopped it. If I could only just go back -”

**Author's Note:**

> uhm ...  
> [ twt ](http://twitter.com/Ieekram) / [ cc ](http://curiouscat.me/S00NSO)


End file.
